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THE principal part of these remarks were made at the meetings | 
of the Boston Socrery or Naturat History. A portion of 
them also have been printed in the Proceedings of the Society. 

The object of this publication is to afford to those who are not 
members of the Society an opportunity of obtaining some know- 
ledge of Fossil Impressions, which they might not be able to 
obtain elsewhere so Presently. 

Some account of the Epyornis seems to be very properly con- 
nected with Ornithichnites. 

The first of these papers was written in October, 1853; the 


others in the earlier part_of the present year. 


THE EPYORNIS; 


OR, 


GREAT BIRD OF MADAGASCAR, AND ITS EGGS. 


In the course of the year 1851, an account was circu- 
lated of the discovery of an immense egg, or eggs, in 
the Island of Madagascar. The size of the eggs spoken 
of was so disproportionate to that of any previously 
known, that most persons received the account with 
incredulity; and, I must confess, I was one of this 
number. Being in Paris soon after hearing of this 
report, | made inquiry on the subject, and was sur- 
prised to learn, that the great egg was actually exist- 
ing in the Museum of Natural History in Paris. In 
a few days I had an opportunity of seeing a cast of it 
in the hands of the artist, M. Strahl, of whom I 


6 


solicited one. He informed me that it could not be 


obtained at that moment; but that, if my request were 
made known to the Administration of the Museum, he 
had no doubt they would accede to it. I accordingly 
did apply, and also presented them with the cast of a 
perfect head of Mastodon Giganteus; and they very 
liberally granted my request. 

The distinguished naturalist, Professor Geoffroy St. 
Hilaire, the second of that honorable name, has made 
a statement to the Academy of Sciences, which, though 
only initiatory,’ contains many facts of a very interest- 
ing nature, some of which I have had an opportunity 
of verifying; and to him we are indebted for a greater 
part of the others. 

The eggs sent to me are,in number, two; one of 
which was purchased by M. Abadie, captain of a French 
vessel, from the natives. Another was soon afterwards 
found, equal in size. A third egg was discovered in 
an alluvial stratum near a stream of water, together 
with other valuable relics of the animal which had 
probably produced them; but, unfortunately, it was 
broken during transportation. Of the two eggs, one 
is of an ovoid form, having much the shape of a hen’s 
egg; and the other is an ellipsoid. 

The ovoid egg is of enormous size, even when com- 


pared with the largest egg we are acquainted with. Its 
| 


7 


long diameter exceeds thirteen inches of our English 
measure, its short diameter eight, and its long circum- 
ference thirty-three inches. Its capacity is thought to 
be equal to eighteen liquid pints, or to be six times 
greater than that of the largest egg known to us (the 
ostrich), although but twice its length. It is said to 
be equal to a hundred and forty-eight hen eggs. The 
ellipsoid ege has its longest diameter somewhat less 
than that of the ovoid; its short diameter nearly 
equals that of the other egg, being more than eight 
inches. The third egg, although broken, has been 
very useful to science, by displaying the thickness of 
the shell, which is about one-tenth of an inch 

The bones, of which I have received the casts, are 
three in number, and of great interest. One of them 
is a characteristic fragment of the upper part of a 
fibula; the other two, still more interesting, as enabling 
us to determine the class and genus of the animal to 
which they belong, exhibit the extremities of the right 
and left tarso-metatarsal bones. ‘The former is some- 
what broken; the latter is nearly perfect, and exhibits 
the triple division of the inferior extremity of the bone 
into the three trochlex or pulley-shaped processes of 
the struthious birds. It might be mistaken for a bone 
of the great Dinornis, but is distinguished from this 
by the flatness of the portion above the trochlee. Still 


8 


less is it one of the bones of the ostrich, its three 
pulleys being separated from each other by distinct 
intervals; whereas the pulleys of the ostrich have 
only one such separation, constituting two distinct 
eminences. : 

M. Geoffroy St. Hilaire considered himself justified, 
from these and other facts, in deciding this bone to 
belong to a bird of a new genus, to which he gives 
the name of Epyornis, from airic, high, tall, and épv«, 
bird ; and, as probably it is a specimen of the largest 
animal of the family, he affixes the specific name of 
Maximus. 

The size of this bird, inferred from that of its egg, 
would be vastly superior to that of the ostrich. But 
if we notice the comparative size of the trochleated 
extremity of the tarso-metatarsal bone, we shall see 
that its height would be greatly exaggerated by adopt- 
ing such a basis for its establishment; in fact, it would 
not probably exceed a height double that of the ostrich. 
And, though it must have been superior to that of the 
Dinornis maximus of Prof. Owen, it might perhaps 
excel it only by the difference of two or three feet. A 
bird of twelve or thirteen feet in height would, how- 
ever, if we stood in its presence, appear enormous, and 
must have greatly astonished and terrified the natives 


of Madagascar. Whether it now exists is uncertain, 


9g 


as it may possibly have a habitation in the wild reces- 
ses of the island, which have never yet been visited by 
any European traveller. | 

The credit of most of the observations and disco- 
veries relating to this remarkable bird is attributable 
to French naturalists ;* and it seems to be a duty 
devolving on English and American navigators to 
complete the history thus happily begun, and to tell 
us whether the Epyornis still exists in the mountain- 
forests of Madagascar, or at least present us with its 


extraordinary relics. 


* The following are the names of French travellers, who have been sup- 
posed to have seen the eggs of the Epyornis in the Island of Madagascar : 
M. Sganzin, in 1831; M. Goudot, in 1833; M. Dumarele, in 1848; and 
M. Abadie, in 1850. 


10 


FOSSIL IMPRESSIONS. —I. 


IcHNoLoGy, a newly created branch of science, takes 
its name from the Greek word iyo, a track or footstep, 
and the tracks themselves have been denominated Ich- 
nites, or, when they refer to birds only, Ornithichnites, 
from éprvx, a bird. And this last term has by custom 
been generally applied to ancient impressions, though 
not correctly. 

Geology has revealed to us not only the remains of 
animals and vegetables, but the impressions made by 
them during their lives, and even the impressions of 
unorganized bodies. ‘The first notice of these appear- 
ances was, as often happens, regarded with indifference 
or scepticism; but their number and variety enlight- 
ened the public mind, and opened a new source. of 
information and improvement. 

The first remarkable observation made on fossil 
footsteps was that of the Rev. Dr. Duncan, of Scot- 


land, in 1828. He noticed, in a new red sandstone 


11 


quarry in Dumfriesshire, impressions of the feet of 
small animals of the tortoise kind, having four feet, 
and five toes on each foot. They were seen in various 
layers through a thickness of forty feet or more. 
Sandstone, in which these impressions are princi- 
pally discovered, is a rock composed chiefly of siliceous 
and micaceous particles cemented together by calca- 
reous or argillaceous paste, containing salt, and colored 
with various shades of the oxide of iron, particularly 
the red, gray, brown. It has been remarked by Prof. 
H. D. Rogers, that the perfection of the surface con- 7 
taining fossil footmarks is often attributable to a 
micaceous deposit. ‘The layers of sandstone have been 
formed by deposits from sea-water, dried in succession ; 
such layers are also seen in the roofing slate. These 
deposits on the shores of the ocean, having in a soft 
condition received the impressions of the feet of birds, 
other animals, vegetables, and also of rain-drops, 
under favorable circumstances dried, hardened, and 
formed a rock of greater or less solidity. Our col- 
league, Dr. Gould, has exhibited to us a specimen of 
dried clay from the shores of the Bay of Fundy, 
containing beautiful impressions, recently made, of 
the footsteps of birds. The particles brought by the 
waves, and deposited in the manner described, were 


derived from the destruction of other rocks previously 


12 


existing, particularly granite and flint, or silex, the 
shining atoms of which compose no small part of 
the sandstone rock. 

It is easy to conceive, that, while these deposits were 
taking place in the soft condition, portions of vegetable 
matters might become intermixed ; and that these, with 
the impressions of the feet and other parts of animals 
and unorganized substances, might be preserved by the 
process of desiccation. The agency of internal heat 
may have also been employed in some cases in baking 
and hardening these crusty layers. 

The sandstone rock, though in some places actually 
in a state of formation at the present time, les in such 
a manner in the earth’s crust as to indicate an im- 
mense antiquity. The age of these beds varies in 
different situations. ‘The sandstone rocks which con- 
tain the greater part of the impressions are called new . 
- red sandstone, to distinguish them from the old red, 
which 1s of a greater age. The deposits on Connecti- 
cut River may not be attributed to the action of this 
river, but are of higher antiquity, probably, than the 
river itself, and proceeded from the waves of an ancient 
sea, existing in a state of the surface of the globe very 
different from that of the present day. 

In 1834, tracks were discovered near ilabeaehare 
sen in Saxony, to which Prof. Kaup, of Darmstadt, 


13 


gave the name of Chirotherium, from the resemblance 
to the impressions of the human hand. Ona subse- 
quent examination, Prof. Owen preferred the name of 
Labyrinthodon, from the resemblance of the folds in 
the teeth to the convolutions of the brain. 

Various other instances of impressions-were seen ; 
and, in the year 1835, Dr. Deane and Mr. Marsh, resi- 
dents of Greenfield, noticed impressions resembling 
the feet of birds in sandstone rocks of that neighbor- 
hood. ‘These observations having come to the know- 
ledge of President Hitchcock, of Amherst College, 
that gentleman began a thorough investigation of the 
subject, followed it up with unremitted ardor, and 
has, since 1836 (the date of his first publication), laid 
before the public a great amount of ichnological infor- 
mation, and really created a new science. Dr. Deane, 
on his: part, has not been idle: besides making valua- 
ble discoveries, he has written a number of excellent 
papers to record some portion of his numerous 
observations. | 

In 1837, at the request of my friend Dr. Boott, I 
carried to London, for the Museum of the Royal 
College of Surgeons, various scientific objects peculiar 
to this country; among which were a number of casts 
of Ornithichnites. 


These casts were kindly furnished me by President 


ae! 


Hitchcock, and the Government of the Royal College 
thereon voted to present to President Hitchcock and 
Amherst College casts of the skeleton of the famous 
Megatherium of South America. ‘These casts were 
packed, and sent to be embarked in a ship destined for 
Boston, but were unluckily delivered to a wrong ship- 
ping house in London, and I lost sight of them for 
some time. They were at length discovered. After 
remaining in this situation for more than a year, they 
were sold at public auction; and, notwithstanding 
many efforts on my part, I was unable to obtain and 
transmit them to Amherst College. 

The fossil impressions which have been distinguished 
in various places in the new red sandstone are those of 
birds, frogs, turtles, lizards, fishes, mollusca, crustacea, 
worms, and zoophytes. Besides these, the impres- 
sions made by rain-drops, ripple-marks in the sand, 
coprolites or indurated remains of feces of animals, 
and even impressions of vegetables, have been pre- 
served and transmitted from a remote antiquity. No 
authentic human impressions have yet been estab- 
lished; and none of the mammalia, except the 
marsupials. (?) We must, however, remember that, 
although the early paleontology contains no record of 
birds, the ancient existence of these animals is now 


fully ascertained. Remains of birds were discovered 


15 


in the Paris gypsum by Cuvier previous to 1830. 
Since that time, they have been found in the Lower 
Beene in England, and the Swiss Alps; and there is’ 
reason to believe that osseous relics may be met with 
in the same deposits which contain the foot-marks. 
Most of the bird-tracks which have been observed, 
belong to the wading birds, or Gralle. 

The number of toes in existing birds varies from 
two to five. In the fossil bird-tracks, the most 
frequent number is three, called tridactylous; but 
there are instances also of four or tetradactylous, and 
two or didactylous. The number of articulations 
corresponds in ornithichnites with living birds: when » 
there are four toes, the inner or hind toe has two arti- 
culations, the second toe three, the third toe four, the 
outer toe five. The impressions of the articulations 
are sometimes very distinct, and even that of the skin 
covering them. 

President Hitchcock has distinguished more than 
thirty species of birds, four of lizards, three of tor- 
toises, and six of batrachians. 

The great difference in the characters of many fossil 
animals from those of existing genera and species, in 
the opinion of Prof. Agassiz, makes it probable that 
in various instances the traces of supposed birds may 


be in fact traces of other animals, as, for example, 


16 


those of the lizard or frog. And he supports this 
opinion, among other reasons, by the disappearance of 
the heel in a great number of Ornithichnites. 

D’Orbigny, to whom we are indebted for the most 
ample and systematic work on Paleontology (“ Cours 
_ Elémentaire de Paléontologie et de Géologie,” 5 vols. 
1849-52), does not accept the arrangement of Presi- — 
dent Hitchcock. He objects to the term Ornithich- 
nites, and proposes what he considers a more compre- 
hensive arrangement into organic, physiological, and 
physical impressions. Organic impressions are those 
which have been produced by the remains of organ- 
‘ized substances, such as vegetable impressions from 
calamites, &c. Physiological impressions are those 
produced by the feet and other parts of animals. 
Physical impressions are those from rain-drops and 
ripple-marks; and to these may be added coprolites in 
substance. This plan of D’Orbigny seems to exclude 
the curious and interesting distinctions of groups, 
genera, and species; in this way diminishing the 
importance of the science of Ichnology. 

Fossil impressions have been found on this conti- 
nent in the carboniferous strata of Nova Scotia, and 
of the Alleghanies; in the sandstone of New Jersey, 
and in that of the Connecticut Valley in a great 


number of places, from the town of Gill in Massa- 


lq 


chusetts to Middletown in Connecticut, a distance of 
about eighty miles. : 

A slab from Turner’s Falls, obtained for me by Dr. 
Deane in 1845, measuring two feet by two and a half, 
and two inches in thickness, contains at least ten 
different sets of impressions, varying from five inches 
in length to two and a half, with a proportionate 
length of stride from thirteen inches to six. All these 
are tridactylous, and represent at least four different 
species. In most of them the distinction of articula- 
tion is quite clear. The articulations of each toe can 
readily be counted, and they are found to agree with 
the general statement made above as to number. The 
impressions are singularly varied as to depth; some of 
them, perfectly distinct, are superficial, like those 
made by the fingers laid lightly on a mass of dough, 
while others are of sufficient depth nearly to bury the 
toes ; some of the tracks cross each other, and, being 
of different sizes, belong to animals of different ages 
or different species. ‘There is one curious instance of 
the tracks of a large and heavy bird, in which, from 
the softness of the mud, the bird slipped. in a lateral 
direction, and then gained a firm footing; the mark of 
the first step, though deep, is ill-defined and uncertain; 
the space intervening between the tracks is super- 


ficially furrowed; in the settled step, which is the 
~ 3 . 


18: 


deepest, the toes are very strongly indicated. On the 
‘same surface are impressions of nails, which may have 
belonged to birds or chelonians. 

The inferior surface of the same slab exhibits 
appearances more superficial, less numerous, but 
generally regular. There are three sets of tracks 
entirely distinct from each other; two of them con- 
taining three tracks, and one containing two, — the 
latter being much the largest in size. In addition, 
there is one set of tracks, which are probably those of 
a tortoise. These marks present two other points 
quite observable and interesting. One is that they are 
displayed in relief, while those on the upper surface 
are in depression. The relief in this lower surface 
would be the cast of a cavity in the layer below; 
so the depressions in the upper surface would be 
moulds of casts above. The second point is the non- 
correspondence of the upper and lower surfaces; i.e. 
the depressions in the upper surface have not a general 
correspondence with the elevations on its inferior sur- 
face. Thé tracks above were made by different indi- 
viduals and different species from those below. This 
leads to another interesting consideration, that in the 
thickness of this slab there must be a number of 
different layers, and in each of them there may be 


a different series of tracks. 


19 


To these last remarks there is one exception: the 
deep impression in which the bird slipped in a lateral 
direction corresponds with an elevation on the lower 
surface, in which the impression of these toes is very 
distinctly displayed, and even the articulations. 
Moreover, one of the tracks on the inferior surface 
interferes with the outer track in the superior, and 
tends in an opposite direction, so that this last- 
described footstep must have been made before the 
other. It is also observable, that, while all the other 
tracks are superficial, this last penetrates the whole 
thickness of the slab; thus showing that the different 
deposits continued some time in a soft state. 

On the surfaces of this slab, particularly on the 
upper, there are various marks besides those of the 
feet, some of which seem to have been made by straws, 
or portions of grass, or sticks; and there is a curved 
line some inches in length, which seems to have arisen 
from shrinkage. 


In the collection of Mr. Marsh,* there were two 


* Mr. Marsh was a mechanic of the town of Greenfield, and procured his 
subsistence by his daily labor. Being employed by Dr. Deane in obtaining 
the sandstone slabs of Ornithichnites, he acquired a taste for the pursuit, 
entered into it with extraordinary ardor, and accumulated by his own labors a 
great collection of fine specimens. He unfortunately fell into a consumption, 
and died in 1852. The collection was sold at public auction for a sum 
between two and three thousand dollars. The specimens were purchased by 
the Boston Society of Natural History, by Amherst College, and by various 
colleges and scientific associations in this country. 


20 


slabs of great size, each measuring ten by six feet, 


having a great number of impressions of feet, and 
about the same thickness as the slab under exami- 
nation. One of these presented depressions; and the 
other, corresponding reliefs. These very interesting 
relations were necessarily parted in the sale of Mr. 
Marsh’s collection; one of them being obtained for 
the Boston Society of Natural History, and the other 
for the collection. of Amherst College. 

The Physical Impressions, according to Professor 
D’Orbigny, are of three kinds, viz.: 1st, Rain-drops ; 
2d, Ripple-marks; and 3d, Coprolites. I have a slab 
which exhibits two leptodactylous tracks very distinct, 
about an inch and a half long, surrounded by impres- 
sions of .rain-drops and ripple-marks. Another speci- 
men exhibits the impressions of rain in a more distinct 
and remarkable manner. The imprints are of various 
sizes, from those which might be made by a common 
pea to others four times its diameter; some are deep, 
others superficial and almost imperceptible. ‘They are 
generally circular, but some are ovoid. Some have the 
edge equally raised around, as if struck by a perpen- 
dicular drop; and others have the edge on one part 
faintly developed, while another part is very sharp and 
well defined, as if the drop had struck obliquely. It 


has been suggested, that these fossil rain-drops may 


mana 


a 21 


have been made by particles of hail; but I think the 
variety of size and depth of depression would have 
been more considerable if thus made. 

Although we have necessarily treated the subject of 
fossil footmarks in a very brief way, sufficient has 
been said to show that this new branch of Paleonto- 
logy may lead to interesting results. The fact that 
they are, in some manner, peculiar to this region, 
seems to call upon our Society to obtain a sufficient 
number of specimens to exhibit to scientific men a 
fair representation of the condition of Ichnology in 
this quarter of our country; and we have therefore 
ereat reason to congratulate ourselves, that, through 
the vigilance and spirit of our members, the Society 
has the expectation of obtaining a rich. collection 


‘of ichnological specimens. 


FOSSIL IMPRESSIONS. — II. 


SIncE writing the preceding article, I have been able 


to obtain, through the kindness of President Hitch- | 


cock, a number of additional specimens of fossil 
impressions. By the aid of these, I may hope to give 
an idea of the system of impressions, so far as it has 
been discovered, without, however, attempting to enter 
into minute details. For these, I would refer to the 
account of the “ Geology of Massachusetts,” by Presi- 
dent Hitchcock ; to his valuable article published in 
the “ Memoirs of the American Academy ;” and to his 
geological works generally. 

The numerous tracks which have been assembled 
together in the neighborhood of Connecticut River 
have afforded an opportunity of prosecuting these 
studies to an extent unusual in the primitive rocky 
soil of New England. These appearances are not, 


indeed, wholly new. Such traces had been previously 


> alate eee a 


23 


met with in other countries; but, in their number and 
variety, the valley of the Connecticut abounds above 
all places hitherto investigated. 

Twenty years have elapsed since the study of Ichno- 
logy has been prosecuted in this country; and, in this 
period of time, about forty-nine species of animal 
tracks have been distinguished in the locality men- 
tioned, according to President Hitchcock ; which have 
been regularly arranged by him in groups, genera, and 
species. 

I propose now to lay the specimens, recently 
obtained, before the Society, as a slight preparation 
for the more numerous and more valuable articles 
which they are soon to receive. 

The traces found on ancient rocks, as has been 
shown in the previous article, are those of animals, 
vegetables, and unorganized substances. ‘The traces 
of animals are produced by quadrupeds, birds, lizards, 
turtles, frogs, mollusca, worms, crustacea, and zo- 
ophytes. ‘These impressions are of various forms: 
some of them simple excavations; some lines, either 
straight or curved, and others complicated into various 
figures. 

President Hitchcock has based his distinctions of 
fossil animal impressions on the following characters, 


v1zZ.:— 


COoMOaANa tH SP O&O NW = 


24 


. Toes thick, pachydactylous; or thin, leptodactylous. 
. Feet winged. 
. Number of toes from two to five, inclusive. 

. Absolute and relative length of the toes. 

. Divarication of the lateral toes. 

. Angle made by the inner and middle, outer and middle toes. 
. Projection of the middle beyond the lateral toes. 

. Distance between tips of lateral toes. 

. Distance between tips of middle and inner and outer toes. 

. Position and direction of hind toe. 

. Character of claw. 

. Width of toes. 

. Number and length of phalangeal expansions. 

. Character of the heel. 

. Irregularities of under side of foot. 

. Versed sine of curvature of toes. 

. Angle of axis of foot with line of direction. 

. Distance of posterior part of the foot from line of direction. 
. Length of step. 

. Size of foot. 

. Character of the integuments of the foot. 

. Coprolites. 

23. 


Means of distinguishing bipedal from quadrupedal tracks. 


By these characters, President Hitchcock has dis- 
tinguished physiological tracks, or those made by 


animated beings, into ten groups provisionally. To 


these may be added, “ organic impressions,” made 


by organized bodies; and the impressions made by 


inanimate bodies, called “ physical impressions.” 


The specimens under our hands enable us to give 


some notion of the distinctions which characterize the 


greater part of these groups. 


25 | 
GROUP FIRST —STRUTHIONES. 


The ostrich-tracks present a numerous natural 
and most remarkable group; remarkable from the 
| great size of some species, — all of them tridactylous 
and pachydactylous. The ostrich of the Old World 
has only two toes, but this family exists in South 
America at the present time under the name of Rhea 
Americana; and tracks of an animal, probably of the 
same family, are found in the numerous impressions 
near Connecticut River, —all of them having three 
toes in front, and the rudiment of a fourth behind. | 

This group contains a number of genera. ‘The 
First Genus, denominated Brontozoum, presents the 
tracks of a most extraordinary bird. These tracks 
appear less questionable since the discovery in Mada- 
gascar of the eggs of the Epyornis. 

The tracks of the largest species, the Brontozoum 
GIGANTEUM, are four times the magnitude of those 
made by the existing ostrich of Africa. ‘They are 
very numerous, and congregated together. ‘The foot 
of the Brontozoum Giganteum, including the inferior 
extremity of the tarso-metatarsal bone, which makes 
a part of the foot, measures in our specimen twenty 


inches; in the Mastodon Giganteus. the foot measures 
4 , 


t 26 


twenty-seven inches; the width also is less, being 
ten inches across the metacarpals, while that of the 
Mastodon is twenty-two: but the one is a bird, the 
other a quadruped. The toes are three in number, 
and present the same divisions with existing birds; 
the inner toe having three, the middle four, the outer 
five phalanges. Some of the articulations of the toes 
of this noble specimen are remarkable for the manner 
in which they illustrate the mode of formation of the 
tracks. ‘These phalanges have become separated from 
the solid rock in which they were encased, so as to be 
removable at pleasure; and they thus show that the 
whole foot is not a simple impression in the rock 
which contains it, but a depression filled by foreign 
materials, i.e. by sand, clay, and other relics of 
pre-existing rocks. These materials had been gradually 
deposited in the mould formed by the bird’s foot, and 
are therefore independent of this rock, in the same 
way as the plaster-of-Paris cast of a tooth, or any 
other body, is independent of the mould to which it 
owes its form. The impressions are in gray sandstone. 

On the reversed surface of the slab is seen a small 
piece of broken quartz, about half an inch square. 
This piece forms a beautiful illustration of a part 


of the process by which the sandstone rocks are 
formed. 


27 


The second species of the same genus is the Bron- 
TozouM SiILLIMANIUM. Of this we have three speci- 
mens; the tracks have the same general character 


with the preceding, but are smaller. 


_ The third species of this genus is styled the Bron- 
Tozoum Loxonyx, from cf, a bow, and sé, a nail, — 
a curved nail. It is smaller than the Sillimanium, 
and has the nail set to one side. 

The fourth species, still smaller, is the Browtozoum 
Gracittimum. On this slab the impressions are in 
relief; viz.: 1st, of Brontozoum Gracillimum; 2d, of 
Brontozoum Parallelum; 38d, of the track of a tor- 
toise, fourteen inches long, and two wide. Other ex- 
tensive eminences and depressions, with rain-drops, 


may be observed on the same surface. 


The fifth species is called Bronrozoum PARALLELUM, 
from the tracks being on a line with each other. Of 
this there are two specimens, one of them, however, 
being a single track. On the surface of the other 
slab there are at least five distinct tracks, one of them 
being a small new and undescribed species, — thus 
making the whole number of species of Brontozoum 


which we possess to be at least six. 


28 


The Secon Genus of Struthiones is called Athyo- 
pus, from aitua, a gull, and zoic, a foot, — gull-footed. 
This genus is smaller than the Brontozoum Gigan- | 
teum; and we have two species, viz. the JETHYOPUS 
LyELiianus, which is the larger, and two specimens 
of /Aruyopus Minor. All of these are distinguished 
from the preceding genus by the winged foot, and in 
the Lyellianus by the shallowness of the impression. 
The AAthyopus Minor is not always distinguished by 
the superficiality of its impression. This is sometimes 
deep. Therefore this character may not be considered 
a distinctive one, or the Aithyopus Minor might be 
referred to another genus. Of the two specimens of 
this latter species, the first is in depression, tridacty- 
lous. The depressions are deep with rain-drops, | 
marks of quadrupeds and zoophytes over the whole 
surface. The ornithichnic impressions are two in 
number; one superficial, the other very deep. The 
reversed surface of this slab contains one tridactylous 
impression in relief. ‘The second specimen has three 
depressions; two of which are superficial, and the 
third is quite deep, displaying, by a depressed surface, 
the webbed character of the foot. 


29 


GROUP SECOND. 


We shall take, to characterize this eroup, the 
Argozoum, from «yi, swift, winged. 

Of this genus there are two species, the larger of 
which is the Arcozoum Disparmrerrarom. It is 
leptodactylous, and remarkable for the length of the 
middle toe. We have another species, which is 
smaller than the last named, and in which the toes 
are nearly of equal length; hence called Arcozoum 


PARIDIGITATUM, 


The other genus of this group is the PLaryprerna, 
and our specimen is named Deaniana. ‘This genus is 
remarkable for the width of the heel; hence the 
name, from ziaric, broad, and xrépvn,a heel. It has three 


toes like the other genera of this group. 


GROUP THIRD. 


This and the succeeding group are tetradactylous ; 
having one toe behind, three forwards. 

The third group is leptodactylous; foot usually 
small, but sometimes of medium size. Of it we have 


two specimens, viz.: OrnirHopus GaALLINAcEus, and 


30 


Ornitruopus Gracius. The former is so called from 


the resemblance to the domestic fowl: for convenience — 


sake, in this and other instances, we use the whole for 
apart. It is about three inches in length, and the 
Ornithopus Gracilis about two. 

This latter specimen is particularly interesting. It 
consists of two parts, which open like the covers of a 
book. These covers present four impressions: first, 
the superficial, which is distinct, slender, and beauti- 
ful — the heel is broad; second, corresponding with 
this depression and on the inside, is a figure in relief 
as distinct as the depression; third, on the inside of 
_ the second cover is a depression corresponding with 


the relief last mentioned; fourth, on the outer side is 


a second relief corresponding with the second depres- . 


sion, but less distinct than either of the other three, 
still, however, exhibiting three toes pointing ante- 
riorly, but the hind toe is wanting. The whole of this 
double slab forms a series of cameos and intaglios, 
measuring four inches by three, and in thickness an, 


inch and a quarter. 


GROUP FOURTH. 


Of the fourth group we have five specimens. ‘The 


Trienopus, so called from its resemblance to a trident, 


oe: 


has besides three leptodactylous toes pointing for- 
wards, a fourth extending backwards in a remarkable 
way, like the handle of a trident; the impression, 
however, being expanded so as to show an extensive 
displacement of the mud. All the specimens of 
Triznopus are in a beautiful red shale, very thin and 
fragile, but presenting well-defined impressions, gen- 
erally about three inches long. 

There are two species to this genus. Of the 
Trianopus Emmonsi4nvus we notice three impressions 
in relief. In another specimen there is the appearance 
of a part of the toes of the Anomcepus Scambus, and 
on the upper side are seen two excavations correspond- 
ing with the three impressions. In the last slab, the 
track of the Trrmnopus BaiLeyaNnvus appears to have 
been made by two feet placed successively in the same 
spot, which led President Hitchcock to suspect it 
might have been made by a quadruped. One of the 
specimens has the Triznopus tracks intermixed in a 


peculiar way with other impressions. 


The specimen representing the genus Harperpac- 
TyLus is larger than the preceding; and, though 
leptodactylous, the toes are much broader and also 
more curved, whence the name Harpedactylus, sickle- 


finger, from dpry and. saxrvios. 


32 


GROUP FIFTH. 


The fifth group differs much from the four previous 
ones. In this and the following groups we pass from 
the vestiges of birds to those of other animals, some 
of which are bipeds, some quadrupeds. Many impres- 


sions are without any distinct character, belonging 


probably to the lower animals, to vegetables, and 


unorganized bodies. 

The fifth group comprehends the tracks of an ex- 
traordinary animal, the Orozoum.* The name which 
has been given to it is taken from that of an ancient 
giant, Otus, who with his brother Ephialtes, accord- 
ing to heathen mythology, made war with the gods. 
These fabled giants were, at nine years of age, nine 
cubits in width and nine fathoms in height. 

The foot is divided into four toes; the two outer of 
which seem to be connected by a common basis. ‘The 
inner toe has three phalanges; the second toe, also 
three ; the third and fourth toes, four each. The first is 
the shortest, the second longer, the third longest, the 
fourth shorter than the third. It will appear, then, 
that this track differs from that of birds in the num- 


ber of toes pointing forwards; these being four, while 


* The specific name of Moodii has been attached to the Otozoum, from its 
having been discovered by Mr. Moody. 


33 


in birds the forward toes are only three. There is a 
difference also in the number and arrangement of the 
articulations. 

The track in our possession is twenty inches long 
by thirteen and a half inches broad. The rock in 
which it is imbedded is a dark-colored sandstone. 
President Hitchcock has a slab showing a regular 
series of tracks of this animal; the distance between 
the steps being about three feet, and the tracks equi- 
distant and alternate, which would not be the case 
if the animal had been quadrupedal. In a quadruped, 
the horse for example, the hind feet are set down near 
the fore feet, and sometimes even strike them. Hence 
it must. be inferred that the track in question was 
that of a biped, or of a quadruped which did not use 
its fore feet in progression, like a kangaroo. We 
naturally ask, What kind of biped could this have 
been? KHyidently not a man, the size of the foot being 
too large to admit such a supposition; nor could it 
have been a bird, the number of toes and their direc- 
tion not admitting this hypothesis. 

Tetradactylous birds, or those which have four 
toes, have only three of them directed forwards, and 
the fourth backwards, generally. There are, however, 
exceptions; some birds have four toes directed for- 


wards: this is the fact with the Hirundo Cypselus 
5 


84 
and the Pelicanus Aquilus of Linnzeus, or Man-of-war 
Bird. But the articulations are different in the two 
animals, birds: having regularly two, three, four, and | 
five phalanges, and the spur, where it exists, supported 
by a single osseous phalanx ; whereas the Otozoum has 
three phalanges in the iner and second toe, four in 
the third and fourth toes. In this last arrangement, 
the Otozoum is decidedly different from all known 
birds. It is not likely to have been a tortoise or 
a lizard. The kangaroo has four feet, and uses 
only two in progression, moving forward by leaps; 
also, like the Otozoum, it has four toes; but the 
size of the toes does not accord with that of the 
Otozoum, nor is the structure of the foot the same, 
so far as we know. It has been suggested by 
Professor Agassiz, that this animal might have been 
a two-footed frog. Nature had, in those days, animal 
forms different from those we are acquainted with ; 


and this might have been the fact with the Otozoum. 


GROUP SIXTH. 


We have in this group a specimen of the track of a 
four-footed animal, which may have been a frog, though 
different from ours. The feet are unequal in size, and 


present a different number of toes. In existing frogs 


35 


there are four toes in the fore feet, and five in the 
hind; but, in the specimen before us, the front toes are 
five in number, and the back toes three. It is called, 
therefore, ANomarus, wnequal-footed. - These impres- 
sions are in the red shale of Hadley, and very distinct. 
In some of them the lower leg is indicated, forming 
an impression six or seven inches long. ‘The feet be- 
ing smaller than the legs; the impression made by the 
latter is more expanded, superficial, and broader, yet 
still very definite. The opinion of President Hitch- 
cock and Dr. Deane is, that the different impressions 
of five and three toes are those of the anterior and 
posterior extremities of one animal, which, from the 
size of the limbs, might be a frog three feet high. 

On the same schist with these footmarks, are other 
curious impressions. ‘The back of the slab is almost 
covered with the imprints of rain-drops. In the midst 
of these is a tridactylous impression, probably of a 
quadruped, crossed at its root by a single depression, 
nearly an inch broad, and two and a half long: this 
seems to form part of another broad superficial im- 
pression of about seven by four inches, which is 
probably also quadrupedal. Other parts present the 
impressions of nails and worm-tracks. At the oppo- | 
site end is a deep, smooth, regular excavation, which 


might have been made by a Medusa. 


36 


GROUP SEVENTH. 


The seventh group contains the impressions of the 
feet of Saurians or lizards. We have a specimen of 
quadrupedal marks, with five toes to each foot, about 
an inch long, which may have been made by these 
animals. The impressions are small, but very distinct. 
There are lizards of the present day with five toes, 
about the size of these impressions; and these may, 
therefore, be set down as belonging to this order of 
reptiles. Like a number of the last-named specimens, 


they are in red shale. 


GROUP EIGHTH. 


The eighth group is assigned by President Hitch- 
cock to the Chelonian or turtle tribe. The slab bear- 
ing impressions of Brontozoum Gracillimum has a 
mark about fourteen inches long and two wide, which 
may be attributed to the plastron or breast-plate of the 
tortoise. On the slab from Turner’s Falls there is a 
longitudinal furrow, which might have been made by 
the tail of a turtle; and in various of our slabs are 


impressions which we think belong to this tribe. We 


37 


shall have occasion to notice hereafter remarkable 
tracks of these animals in the old red of Morayshire, . 
in Scotland. 

_ The most distinct of the traces of chelonians are 
on the large slab lately obtained for me by President 
Hitchcock from Greenfield. (Vide Plate.) This in- 
teresting slab contains the traces of quadrupeds, 
various birds, and two trails of chelonians: the largest 
of these is nearly five feet long, and four inches in 
diameter. The trail is composed of a number of 


parallel elevations, comparatively superficial. 


GROUP NINTH. 


Of the ninth group, containing the marks of Anne- 
lidee, Crustacea, and Zoophytes, we have various 
specimens. . 

The impressions of insects do not seem as yet to 
have been distinguished on the ancient rocks. There 
is reason to believe, however, that many of the marks 
we discover in the rocky beds might have been made 
by the feet and bodies of large insects; and small 
species of the same tribes have been found imbedded 
in, and actually constituting, immense masses of cal- 


ecareous and siliceous rocks. 


38 


The tracks of worms are numerous. No doubt . 
_ these worms drew together a concourse of birds to the 
shores on which they rolled. On various slabs we 
find long cylindrical furrows, about the eighth of an 
inch in diameter, and of different lengths; one of 
them, in the slab from Dr. Deane, being eight or nie 
inches long. To these impressions the name of Hxr- 
PYSTEZOUM, from épror%c, crawling, has been given. 
They vary, however, and some of them are very likely 
to be the tracks of the common earth-worm, or ar 
some species of worm which existed when these rocks 
were formed. ‘These impressions vary in length and 
in diameter; some of them are moderately regular, 


and others irregularly curved. 


Very interesting tracks have been found in the 
ancient Potsdam white sandstone of Beauharnais, on 
the St. Lawrence, by Mr. Logan, an excellent geolo- 
gist of Canada, and determined by Professor Owen to 
belong to Crustacea, crabs. ‘The number of impres- 
sions made by each foot is sometimes seven, sometimes 
eight, and even more. This track, showing the traces 


of Crustacea, goes to form another link in the chain of 


fossil footsteps. 


The Meduse, commonly called jelly-fish, dissolving 


39 


as they do under the influence of the sun and air, 
would hardly be expected to leave their traces im- 


pressed on ancient rocks. Professor D’Orbigny, how- 


ever, has watched the dissolution of these animals on 


the sea-shore, and found that, after wasting, they may 
leave their impressions on the sand; which, not being 
disturbed by a high tide for nearly a month, retains 
the impression of the zoophyte, and serves as a mould 
to receive materials which take a cast and transmit it 
to subsequent ages. We find one of these impressions 
on the slab of the Anomcepus Scambus; and President 
Hitchcock, having examined it, is of opinion that it © 
retains the traces of a Medusa. ‘The impression is 
about five inches in diameter, of a darker color and 
smoother texture than the rest of the rock. Its edges 


fade away gradually in the surface of the subjacent — 


sandstone. A similar impression is found on the 


superior surface of the slab containing the Argozoum. 


GROUP TENTH. 


The tenth group contains the Harpacopus, a name 
derived from éprayy, seizure, rapine. It is represented 
by President Hitchcock as having the form of a drag. 
The figure given by him resembles in a degree the 


40 


foot of the African ostrich; being a long thick toe, 
with a shorter one, not unlike a thumb, on the side. 
An impression approximating this, but of small size, 


may be seen on the slab of the Anomcepus Scambus. 


The formation of bird-tracks is well represented by 
a clay specimen, about an inch thick, and ten inches 
long. ‘This is a piece of dried clay, obtained by Presi- 
dent Hitchcock from the banks of the Connecticut, 
and produced by washings from clay on the shore 
above, covered with foot-impressions of a small tridac- 
tylous bird, and dried in the sun. ‘This piece shows, 
in a way not to be questioned, the manner in which 
the ancient vestiges were produced. Sir Charles Lyell 
noticed a similar fact on the banks of the Bay of 
Fundy. 


4] 


ORGANIC IMPRESSIONS. 


. The second great division of fossil impressions 
is called OrGanic, meaning impressions made by 
organized bodies; the bones of animals, fishes, and 
vegetables. 

Near one extremity of the slab of the Ornithopus 
Gallinaceus is an elevation, about a foot long, and 
between one and two inches wide, projecting from the 
surface nearly half an inch. It has the appearance of 
a round bar of iron imbedded in the rock, which is 
clayey sandstone. This apparent bar of iron was 
probably a bone, buried in the stone, now silicified 
and impregnated with iron; the animal matter having 
entirely disappeared. In the slab of the Brontozoum 
Sillimanium is a projection about seven or eight inches 
long, and half an inch wide; probably the bone of 


an animal, perhaps a clavicle of the Brontozoum 


Giganteum. - 


42 


The vestiges of fishes are very numerous in the 
sandstone rocks of Connecticut River. We have not 
less than two dozen specimens from this locality; a 
number equal to all the other specimens in our collec- 
tion. These impressions of fishes are generally from 
three to six inches long, and three or four inches 
wide. They are of the grand division denominated by 
Professor Agassiz “ heterocercal,” haying their tails 
unequally bilobed, from the partial prolongation of 
the dorsal spine; and they are considered to be of 
lower antiquity than the fishes which are entirely he- 
terocercal. The most remarkable of the fish-specimens 
in our collection is a CepHataspis (7): this fish is found 
in the specimen containing tracks of the Brontozoum 
Gracillimum, and traces of a turtle or tortoise. This 
fossil was discovered in the upper layer of the old red 
sandstone of Scotland, and had been mistaken by 
some for a trilobite: to us it appeared to be a Limu- 
lus, but further observation leads us to believe it to be 
a Cephalaspis. It exhibits a convex disc, four inches 
across, by two inches from above downwards, and a 
tail at right angles with the disc, the uncovered part 
of which is three inches long. The animal has been 
described by Professor Agassiz as being composed of a 
strong buckler, with a pointed horn at either termina- 


tion of the crescent, and an angular tail. 


43 


To the vegetable impressions discovered among the 
sandstone rocks a peculiar name has not yet been 
assigned. When, however, we consider the strong 
probability that many impressions of stalks, leaves, 


fruits, and other parts of vegetables, may be hereafter 


discovered in these rocks, it will be found convenient 


to have a distinctive denomination. Vast numbers of 
vegetable impressions of a distinct and beautiful ap- 
pearance, and in great variety, have been found in the 
coal-formation, which is nearly allied to the sandstone: 
such are the Sigillaria, Stigmaria, Equisetaces, Lyco- 
podiace, Coniferee, Cycader, &c. It is sufficient to 
say that the number of these has been already swelled 
to many hundreds: we must also believe, that some of 
the impressions in sandstone rocks which have been 
assigned to other substances ought to be attributed to 
vegetables. We may, therefore, venture to call the 
vegetable impressions “ phytological.” 

A number of our slabs bear impressions of vegeta- 


bles; either twigs of trees, or spires of plants. Ina _ 


‘fragment broken from one of the toes of the Bronto- 


zoum Giganteum, we see a cylindrical depression, 
three inches long, and half an inch in diameter, 
marked by transverse lines, about the sixth of an inch 
apart, and presenting an unquestionable appearance \ 


of a fragment of a twig of an ancient vegetable, 


4+ 
‘which had been trodden under the foot of the mighty 
Brontozoum. On the reversed surface of the same 
slab are found impressions, which were produced by a 
number of fragments of sticks, five or six inches long, 
lying at right angles, or nearly so. One of these 
sticks has been broken, and its pieces are slightly 
displaced from each other. Various other specimens 
contain the marks of sticks, or twigs of trees. ‘The 
strize, so distinctly discernable in a number of these 
portions, having been ‘compared with twigs of the 
existing conifer (?), were found to resemble them. 
Some of these sticks show the appearance of incipient 
carbonization; yet the rock is sandstone, presenting, 
as already mentioned, distinct appearances of quartz, 
and other substances of which the arenaceous rocks 


are composed. 


45 


PHYSICAL IMPRESSIONS. 


The third great division of impressions in the 
sandstone rocks is called PuysicaL, meaning those 
made by inanimate and unorganized substances; such 
are rain-drops, ripple-marks, and coprolites. 

1. Marks of rain-drops, described on page 20, 
appear to be quite common. We have two or three 
specimens in relief, and as many in depression. They 
occur as follows: Ist, on the upper surface of the 
slab first described; 2d, on that of the Platypterna ; 
3d, on that of the Aithyopus Lyellianus; 4th, on that 
of the Brontozoum Gracillimum ; 5th, on that of the 
fEthyopus Minor; 6th, on that of the Anomcpus 
Scambus; 7th, on the recent clay; also in one small 
hand-specimen, and in a second containing two fishes. 
They show that, in those ancient periods when the 
Brontozoum Giganteum and the Otozoum resided in 
these parts, showers were frequent, and probably 


abundant for the supply of the wants and the grati- 


46 


fication of the appetites of these animals, then com- 
mon, but which now appear to us so extraordinary. 

2. Ripple-marks are seen in a number of these 
pieces; for example, on the slab first described, on 
the Brontozoum Sillimanium slab, on the Brontozoum 
Gracillimum slab, on one of the Trizenopus, and on 
the upper surface of the Greenfield slab. These 
marks are represented by parallel curves, or straight 
lines, distant from each other from half an inch to 
an’ inch, and presenting a slight degree of prominence. 
There is another form of ripple-marks (?), differing 
from those above described. ‘These are of a circular 
and mammillary form: they are strewed thickly, like 


little islets, approximating to each other. They are 


seen distinctly on one of the slabs of the Brontozoum > 


Sulimanium, on that of the Aithyopus Lyellianus, 
and some others. Whether they are to be considered 
as accumulations of sand and clay, formed by the 
action of the sea, we are uncertain; but there seems 
to be no other cause to which they can be assigned 
with so great probability. | 

3. Coprolites, the fossilized ejections of animals, are 
intermixed with other animal vestiges in the sandstone 
of Connecticut River, and afford additional proof of 


the former existence of animals about these rocks. 


a oF, ree 


47 


_ The latest accounts of fossil footprints we have had 
occasion to notice are those of the Crustacea, already 
mentioned, as found in Canada, and of the Chelonian 
in Scotland. The Canadian impressions, called by 
Professor Owen Protichnites, were discovered in the 
year 18477, and were laid before the London Geological 
Society in 1851. The most remarkable circumstance 
about them was their existence, as already stated, in 
a white sandstone, near the banks of the River St. 
Lawrence, at Beauharnais. This sandstone, which has 
been described by New York geologists under the 
name of Potsdam, is thought to belong to the Silurian 
system, and to have a higher antiquity than even the 
“ old red.” i 

The Scotch footsteps are situated in the old red 
sandstone, and are those of a Chelonian. So that we 
have now two series of tracks, the Crustacea in Canada 
and the Chelonian in Scotland, of higher antiquity 


than any which had been previously discovered. 


¥ 


On a review of the labors of President Hitchcock, 
we are struck with admiration at the immense details 
that, in the midst of arduous official and literary 


duties, he has been able to go through with in the 


48 


period since the foot-tracks were discovered on Con- 
necticut River. Although his labors should be modi- 
fied by succeeding observers, Science must be ever 
grateful to him for laying the foundation, and doing 
so much for the completion, of a work so oreat, novel, 
and interesting. 

This inquiry seems to us to promise a rich variety 
and we hope that President Hitchcock and other 
observers will continue to explore and cultivate it 


with undiminished zeal. 


49 


DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATE. 


We are indebted to Photography for enabling us to 
represent the remarkable slab from Greenfield, and its 
“numerous objects, in a small space, yet with perfect 
accuracy. This slab is four feet seven and one-half 
inches in one direction, and four feet one inch trans- 
versely to this; in thickness it measures about an 
inch. It is composed of gray sandstone, in which 
the micaceous element is conspicuous, and contains 
many interesting impressions on both surfaces. 

The most interesting surface is the inferior; and 
the objects are, of course, presented in relief. They 
are, first, two Chelonian tracks; second, four sets of 
bird-tracks ; third, footsteps of an unknown animal. 
The Chelonian tracks are two in number: the longest 
measures four feet ten inches; the shorter, two feet 
nine inches. Both of these impressions are made 
apparently by the plastron of the turtle. They are | 
from four to eight inches in width, and composed of 
elevated strie. These stric are formed by raised lines, 


pursuing a course generally regular, but accompanied 
7 


50 


with some inflections: they are, as the plate repre- 
sents, very distinct. The shorter track appeared to 
me to be crossed by another; but the photographic 
impression, though only a few inches long, enabled 
me to ascertain that this appearance was produced by 
bird-tracks above and below. | 

The bird-tracks are all tridactylous. The first set 
lies above and to the right of the shorter turtle-track, 
and is composed of only two steps, proceeding in the 
course of the plate downwards. The second set of 
bird-tracks has five impressions, extending from the 
right superior pointed angle of the slab across the 
small turtle-track to the larger, in which it is lost. 
The third set of bird-tracks begins by an impression 
larger than any other on the piece at the left extre- 
mity of the longer turtle-track; and the remainder, 
three in number, descending towards the right, are 
the least distinct of any. The fourth set of bird-tracks 
begins below the longer turtle-track, and ascends by 
four impressions, crossing the track till it meets the 
first. 

The most curious track, consisting of six digitated 
impressions, still remains. The first is seen on the 
left of the longer turtle-track, near the largest bird- 
track ; the second is on the track; the third is above 


the track; the others cross the slab by fainter impres- 


D1 


sions. ach of them is composed by two feet, and 
each foot contains four toes, which are seen more 
distinctly in some impressions than in others. The 
largest of these double tracks is about three inches in 
diameter. Perhaps it would be useless to speculate 
upon what kind of animal they were made by. 
There is a similarity between these and the tracks of 
the Anomepus Scambus, spoken of in the sixth 
group. In the latter, however, the toes are five and 
three. Some experienced persons think they are 
tracks of the mink, Mustela Lutreola, an animal com- 
mon at the present day in these parts. This has five 
toes; but it may be in this as in some other digiti- 
grades, that one of the toes in each foot does not 
make an impression ; or perhaps it is safer to believe, 
till further investigation is made, that it was an ani- 
mal of a construction not now existing. 

The direction of these tracks presents a puzzle we 
are not able to unravel; it exhibits the impressions 
of four toes, and we have supposed it might possess 
five. In either of these cases, we have no right to 
consider it a bird-track, but probably a reptile or a 
mammal. Admitting this to be the fact, we are 
unable to account for the direction of the steps, which 
is not alternate, as in the quadruped, but in straight 


lines. In other words, this animal, supposed to have 


52 


four legs, gives us the impressions of two only, and 
both of these placed together. 

When the tridactylous tracks are attentively con- 
sidered, compared with each sen and with the 
digitated tracks, they appear to exhibit the character 
of the impressions of the feet of birds so very 
decidedly, that it would require something more than 
a philosophic incredulity to question their ornithic 
origin. | 

The other side of this slab contains interesting 
impressions. In the first place, this surface is covered 
with ripple-marks, each about two inches broad, 
extending with various degrees of distinctness across 
the slab, and having an interval of an inch. ‘The 
width of the ridges is greater than in any of the 
specimens we have seen. 

This surface is almost covered by rain-drops. It 
has also, among other impressions, one which has 
been drawn by Mr. Silsbee, our photographist, and 
represented by the figure below of its proper size. 
This figure, nearly four and a half inches in length, 
is an exact resemblance in form, but not in size, of 
the great Otozoum, as depicted by President Hitch- 
cock, and shown by the actual impression, in our 
hands, of the great foot, twenty inches long, and of 
proportionate breadth. The form of the heel, or pos- 


58 


terior part of the foot, is the same in the two figures ; 
the toes are equal in both, viz. four in number; the 
two internal toes correspond in their articulations, 
and the two external are nearly alike, with a little 
allowance for a different amount of adipose texture. 
Whether this was the impression of an infant Oto- 
zoum, I pretend not to determine: the drawing was 
taken by a gentleman who knew nothing of the 
Otozoum. There are similar impressions, smaller 
than that last described, on the same surface. 

The stone, though now very hard and intractable, 
having resisted all the chemical agents we could 
employ, must have remained in a soft state for some 


time; for the impressions of the foot shown below 


penetrate to the opposite surface. 


54 


In this description we have not attempted to — 
point out all the objects worthy of interest on both — 
sides of this curious slab. very part of it is full 


of interest, and presents a field for protracted obser- 


vations. The surface represented in the plate may, 


by the aid of a magnifier, be studied without the — 


presence of the stone itself; for the photographic art 
_ displays the most minute objects without alteration — 


or omission. 


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